Biden administration forces Trump appointees out of military academy advisory boards

According to The Hill, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed with reporters on Wednesday that letters were sent to Trump appointees asking for their resignations from the advisory boards for the Air Force Academy, West Point and the Naval Academy.

These positions usually come with multi-year terms, spread across multiple administrations.

"The president's objective is what any president's objective is, which is to ensure you have nominees and people serving on these boards who are qualified to serve on them and who are aligned with your values," Psaki said. "And so yes that was an ask that was made."

"I will let others evaluate whether they think Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer and others were qualified, or not political, to service on these boards, but the president's qualification requirements are not your party registration," she continued. "They are whether you're qualified to serve and whether you're aligned with the values of this administration."

During his last weeks in office, Trump appointed numerous people to advisory boards including former counselor Kellyanne Conway, former press secretary Sean Spicer, former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and former budget director Russell Vought.

Naval Academy advisory board appointee Vought tweeted a copy of the letter he received from the White House on Wednesday, responding with "No. It's a three year term."

His letter, and many others like it, state that if the White House does not receive his resignation by 6pm Wednesday, his position would be terminated.

Conway, who was appointed to the Air Force Academy advisory board, tweeted her response letter to the White House, calling the action "petty and political, if not personal," noting that it is a break from presidential norms.

"President Biden, I'm not resigning, but you should," Conway wrote.

Meaghan Mobbs, an Afghanistan veteran and Trump appointee to the West Point board, slammed the decision in a letter posted to Twitter.

"Frankly, I find this whole act unconscionable and not at all in spirit by which this Administration promised to govern," wrote Mobbs.

Mobbs noted that when she joined the board under the Trump administration, some of the board members there were appointed during the Obama administration.